The Power of Action

Which one do people find more difficult:
coming up with strategy or executing on that strategy?

Coming up with the right thing to do...or actually doing it?

I think that for individuals, families, Churches and companies, putting into practice what we know we ought to do is more difficult than figuring out what we ought to do.

As important and vision and values and goals and strategies are...getting it done is as important, maybe even more!

What's At My Desk?

What sits at my desk every day to remind me of what I should be doing?

A Bible.
A coffee cup.
Three pieces of paper up on the board in front of me that say,

1. "Your only job is to help your players play better." Tony Dungy
(A quote I put up to remind me that I am a coach who facilitates work, my job is not to do the work, but to make sure the work gets done. Am I leading in such a way that I am helping all those I lead be better?)

2. (This paper I made after meeting with a mentor and asking for advice - I wrote down his advice in 3 sets of questions)
Am I energizing the people around me? Do they feel the vision? Are they engaged in the story?
Am I clear on our "here" and our "there"? Do I have the commitment of our people to our "there"?
Where are we innovating? Stimulating progress, eye on the horizon, R & D, creativity

3. "I vow to give You all the credit and glory" signed, Sept. 26, 2010
(This paper I made after I had spent some time in prayer one Sunday morning before the service. I keep it on the wall in front of me to remind me of the commitment I made.)

Living On Purpose

Without purpose we cannot experience life in it's fullness. Waking up in the morning with no engaging sense of purpose is boring, demotivating and leads to an aimless, petty and miserably selfish life. On the other hand, waking up with the knowledge that I have a grand purpose bigger than myself is invigorating. Here is how one person said it:

“The best adventures always spring from a noble cause or mission. The greatest adventurers do things not only for the thrills but because they accomplish a worthy purpose. Because the excitement they feel connects to a far greater objective, they enjoy a far deeper, richer, and longer lasting pleasure than those who seek only an adrenaline rush. That’s why the Christian life presents the best opportunities for adventure. Those who invest themselves unreservedly in partnering with God to extend His kingdom – whether they do so in the boardroom, classroom, lunchroom, or weight room – know an ongoing thrill unavailable to others. ”

So here is the reality. You DO have a purpose. You have as much purpose as any human being who has ever lived. We are all created equal in this sense. You have may have a different capacity than someone else but you have the same possibility of reaching your capacity or potential as anyone else has. Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to find and live out your purpose with passion.

How? Check in to this blog tomorrow to see how Hebrews 12 gets us started on finding and living out our purpose with passion.

A Great Team

Today we had one of our best Sunday's at church ever. Simply put, the ministry was powerful, the people were impacted and God was glorified. The best part was that there were dozens of people working hard together for Christ with such an awesome spirit of servanthood. SO cool! Thanks so much to the Victory Church team for each of you putting forth your gifts and letting God use you. So great when the church is being the church. I think we all went home exhausted but oh so satisfied. Today was a glimpse of great things to come.

Dreaming Dreams

I am preparing today for our church team day where we gather together to get renewed in our passion, refreshed in our hearts and united in our purposes. I wanted to start the day talking about the power
of vision and got thinking about God's dream for us. I went looking for a good quote on "dreams" and ended up finding something I wrote several year ago. See if it stirs anything in you.

"If you don’t dream you’ll never have anything to step out of the boat into. The dream is what you step into when you step out of the boat. The dream is what you enter into when you leave the comfort zone of your life. Your dreams are your water to walk on, they are the way to freedom from the monotony of doing the same old all your life. They are the options that lie before you that frighten you and excite
you at the same time. So, if we are destined to be a water-walking people, if we are determined to get out of the monotony of the same old, out of the drudgery of the comfort zone, then we are going to
have to find some dreams.

God is a dreamer… He created this whole earth and worked it out in His minds eye before He ever created it and set it in motion. He created you in His heart and mind before the world even began, He dreamed about what you would be like and what you would do. It seems God put in us what was in Him, the capacity to envision the future. In fact, He constantly calls His people to dream big dreams…

He told Abraham to look at the stars and dream about a huge nation…He told Moses to dream about a people who would be set free from slavery…He gave the prophets dreams of what God’s people could be like if only they would obey His voice.

He gave Jesus a dream of setting people free.... Jesus started His ministry with a dream from God in the scriptures for the purpose of His life, He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to bring freedom...good news..."

Jesus went on to call His disciples with a dream of what they could become (fishers of men).

He imparted His dream to them about His church) that would break down the gates of hell.

When He left them, He left them with a dream the great commission, spreading His glory through all the world.

Dreams have been the catalyst for good change throughout history."

Dear VCMJ

A little over a week ago I sent this e-mail to our church family.

VCMJ,

This month has been filled with joys and sorrows, testimonies of God’s goodness and trials that tested our faith. It has been one of the most fruitful months of our church's history but it has also been emotionally and physically exhausting. This is the journey and adventure that God has us on. The more intently we engage in the battle, the more passionately we follow and pursue God’s plan, the more directly we engage our enemy, the more Victory Church becomes a glorious adventure that engages our best efforts, greatest joys and yes, some of our fiercest battles. Though it hasn’t been easy, I would way rather be in the battle and taking ground for our King than sitting around on our butts, consumed with our selfish agendas and doing nothing to advance the one Cause that matters on this planet. Here are some of the key things going on:

INCREASED INFLUENCE: September has included increased attendance at church with new singles, new families, new youth, many new young adults. Our church is increasingly becoming a place to check out in our city and area. This is such an exciting season and opportunity; many of those newcomers have made commitments to Christ at our services. Praise God. City newspapers have been calling and writing several articles about us and for us, city leaders and pastors have specifically come to me to tell me what a great influence our church is becoming in the city. Just this Friday as I was running errands and going to meetings I had several people whom I did not know tell me good things about our church. It’s not that revival has broken out, but more and more we are seeing the fruit of our prayers, our vision and our labours to be a church of irresistible influence in the city of Moose Jaw. It’s only the tip of the iceberg; so much more can and will happen as we launch out with God to be a blessing. To God be the glory.

RENEWED VISION: Power Conference, Dr. George Hill preached on a Sunday morning here, we had a CONNECT vision night...these converged together to renew our vision as a church to make disciples by reaching people so that they find Christ, teaching people so that they flourish in Christ and mobilizing people so that they become fruitful in Christ. We can only accomplish these things as we have God working in us and through us, work together as a team and each take responsibility for staying connected to the church ourselves and reaching out to those around us. One of the burdens on my heart lately is to invite those who have been sidelined (stopped attending church) for one reason or another back into the game. Maybe you know someone you could call and invite out to church, maybe you are reading this and wondering if you should come back... yes! We would love it, we need you to accomplish what God has for us here. Maybe you attend but only come once in awhile; we could increase our church attendance by 20% if our own people would just come regularly!

RAISING LEADERS: Once again many of our young leaders have been stepping up and serving wholeheartedly. God is in the business of taking ordinary people and developing them into warriors for Him. Let’s pray for the emerging leaders in our midst. Last Sunday when I preached on Moses being overwhelmed with the job of leading his people and God providing 70 leaders anointed to help I sensed God speaking and reassuring us that He is doing that in our midst!

RENOVATIONS:  Our new sanctuary is finally complete and it has a totally new feel. More intimate, more focused, more clean and welcoming, and most of all, more of the presence and power of God. Last Sunday, from the parking lot to the prayer room to the opening song, the presence of God was tangible. So many discouraged people were strengthened and lifted, more people than I have ever seen were drawn into the worship (not just the front 3 rows but into the back as well). I believe this was only the beginning of what God is going to do in this new sanctuary. Can you envision with me the work God will do here? THIS SUNDAY IS THE OPENING AND DEDICATION OF THE NEW SANCTUARY and it will be a Sunday we will not forget for a long time. Please make it a priority to be there.

PASTOR DAVE MEYERS will be with us next week (Oct 10) as a special guest speaker and I hope you don’t miss it. I have listened to over 500 sermons preached by this man and always look forward to sitting under his ministry. The authenticity, anointing and humour of his preaching will bless you, so don’t miss this chance for God to nail you!

BLOWN AWAY BY THE SACRIFICE: More than anything else on my heart this week I have been blown away by the hard work and sacrifice of our people. Many of you serve and work for God in this church even when you are already at the end of your rope in the rest of your life. The hours, the sweat and tears, the prayers and the just plain sacrifice you make has blown me away and touched my heart this week more than ever. We all ought to be sooo thankful for those in our midst who are joyfully laying down their lives to make VCMJ a better place. Renovations, cleaning, media, leading ministries with excellence, these all take hard work and someone has to step up and just do it. That’s what’s been happening around this church by people who aren’t looking for credit and glory; they are simply serving because they want God to use them and God’s church to be blessed. Next time you see someone helping out in any way...say thank you!

We love you all so much and we are blessed to be your pastors. Thanks for your support and for running with the vision.

Pastor Dan and Marianna

Bigger Vision

I have been reflecting on this verse lately and it seems to be calling out to me to have bigger vision.

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Eph 3:20

Those are some pretty big words and they contain some very powerful thoughts.

Exceedingly: ex·ceed·ing·ly - To an advanced or unusual degree; extremely. To an extreme degree, extremely

Abundantly:  a·bundant·ly  - marked by great plenty, amply supplied, plentifully; in abundance

Above all

That we ask or think: I can think up some pretty great stuff, but God's plan for us is FAR greater than what we can think up or ask for

According to the power that works in us - there is a very important piece. This is what God is going to do in and through us. This is not some lighting from the sky and zap, your life is different. This is God working in you and then God using you. One of the amazing things about the work of God in our lives is that He invites us to partner with Him in it. We are vessels of God's power. So many times we are just waiting for this "miracle" to drop from heaven...instead I believe God wants us to know the power that is already in us and for us to be the means by which God accomplishes the great things.

What areas of your life, city, church, etc. do you need to have a bigger vision for?

What can you do now with the power of God that is at work in you to see those visions become a reality?

As you move forward, God working with you, I believe you will see the promise in this verse fulfilled.

Our Vision in 12 Words

To Become A Team That Works Together To Reach People For Christ

In 12 words, that is the vision for our church. I dream that we would be a team of people who work together to reach our friends, co-workers, neighbours and family for Christ.

Being a team means that each one of us is involved. Each of us has a part to play and each of us working together are far more powerful than any of us individually.

Working together means that there really is work to be done. The church is not a club to hang out at and vegetate. It is a mission station to be sent from to get real work done. Being a part of the Victory team may not be easy, but it will be a challenging adventure.

Reaching people for Christ means that we genuinely believe that Jesus is working in and wants to continue to work in the life of every person in Moose Jaw. Each Moose Javian is on a spiritual journey and God is reaching out to them. We want to help facilitate their journey towards God through Christ.

But it doesn't end there. Reaching a person for Christ only begins when they find Him. The next step is for them to change their lives as they respond to God's word and bring every area of their lives under the Lordship of Christ. When this happens they find themselves living more and more free, joyful, loving lives, or another way to say it is that after they find Christ, they need to discover how to flourish in Christ. Finally, reaching people for Christ includes helping them discover their unique purpose and calling in God's kingdom. Each and every person can know the thrill and joy of being an instrument in God's hand to bring His love to others. This I call being fruitful. So...I know this part is a little more wordy but I summarize reaching people for Christ as helping people find Christ, flourish in Christ and be fruitful for Christ.

Imagine if there was a team of people radically committed to allowing God to use them to reach their friends, neighbours, co-workers and family for Christ. Imagine if God used us to help hundreds of people find Christ, flourish in Christ and then be fruitful for Christ.

God would get glory. Lives would get transformed. The church would prevail.

Want to join our team?

Steps To Getting A Vision

As a church, we looked at the story of Nehemiah this week and learned about how he discovered a vision to sink his life into. Here was the process.

1. See what is (Neh. 1:1-4)

- This is dealing with the harsh realities of life. Things are not as they ought to be. We must face them and feel the pain of them and not run from the truth. Facing reality is one of the main ways we discover a vision.

2. See what could be (Neh. 1:5-9)

- This makes us frustrated. We see what should be, ought to be, could be, and yet isn't. Living between what is and what ought to be is painful, frustrating and fills us with passion.

3. Believe what could be (Neh. 1:10)

- This is what gives us hope. If we only have the first two, we will be angry but not do anything constructive to bring about change. If it is a God-sized vision, this is where we need to believe that God will join in.

4. Determine it must be (Neh. 1:11-2:4)

- Now we have a vision. Visions are born in the hearts of men and women who live in the tension between what is and what ought to be. They allow themselves to feel that frustration and look for a solution. Then they allow themselves to heat up until they boil over. They have what we call a Popeye moment, "That's alls I can stand; I can't stand it no more." And they are moved to action.

5. Persevere until it is (Neh. 2:5-end)